Our Victory over Chinese Drywall

Afterward

2011-08-29T11:06:00.002-04:00

It's has been about 10 months since our remediation project finished, and was thinking people might want an update on how it went.

The good stuff: I think we did a great job on the remediation. The AC is working great, all electrical looks great, and the kids can get over colds like normal children. The house looks great! No corrosion on any of the copper or silver, and the fixtures are holding up perfectly - unlike previous. And yes, 10 months is a long time for these corrosion processes. I think all in all, the remediation has been a great success.

The bad stuff. There has been one development worth noting. I was diagnosed with a mass on my kidney this June (2011), and when it was removed in August, it turned out to be papillary renal cell carcinoma (cancer). Stage 1, grade 2. It was 6cm in size. The good news is it is out, and I'm cancer free with a great prognosis. No additional therapies, just monitoring for the rest of my life. The question that remains is did toxic Chinese Drywall cause my cancer? That remains to be seen. I'm 35 with no family history, so a bit outside the normal bounds of those who might develop it naturally, maybe I'm just unlucky to have gotten it. Maybe there is a connection. Regardless, it is a fact that I had it, and thought it was relevant enough to share for other victims of Chinese Drywall to consider along with everything else. Did remediation cause this? Also don't know - I tend to doubt it based on its size, unlikely to me it grew that large in a single year, but what do I know. That said, I do think it originated within 5 years, meaning since I moved into my toxic home. Again, just my opinion.

In the end, I have no regrets for taking on the project. I sleep well knowing I did the best I could for my family, and they are in a safe environment now. The finances will work themselves out in time - and while waiting, we are back together, in a great home. In the end, I do consider myself lucky - to have beaten Chinese Drywall and cancer both, and am on a path to put all of this behind me. If you're reading this considering options for your Chinese Drywall nightmare, I hope this has offered some degree of help to you.

DONE!

2010-11-01T20:19:00.002-04:00

Well, the welcome home party was a success. The house is unpacked (mostly, don't look in our closets) and grass is growing where the dumpster once was.

We still have to move in the piano ($) and take some clothes and toys to Goodwill.

One of these days, I'll update the actual man-hour returns, but otherwise, I think this is the end of the line for the Victory Over Chinese Drywall Blog.

Victory!

Signing off...

Inspection Passed!

2010-10-22T16:57:00.002-04:00

Been a while - hit a new milestone - we passed inspection!

Was not too eventful - I had not caulked the kitchen counter, and that was an issue, but small enough to be overlooked (and now corrected anyway), so I can take down the permits - all done by the book.

If you're interested in coming to the Open House next Saturday, you're welcome to; if you don't have my contact info, just drop me a line or leave a message and I'll follow up with more specifics. Panera catered for lunch, chicken for dinner - fun in-between.

Moving, moving, unpacking, moving

2010-10-14T22:06:00.002-04:00

More unpacking.

The computer is now back on a floor I'm living on... back in the guest room... I can start catching up on my receipt processing... tomorrow.

Nothing else to say today...

Finally, a shower door!

2010-10-13T21:37:00.002-04:00

The shower door finally made an appearance...

Decided I will take out and replace the lag screw in the newel post; the gap is driving me nuts. Once that is done, I have to (still) install one outlet in the kitchen island (about 10 seconds), touch up some paint in Abby's room, and then construction is done-done. Pushing off inspection again mostly because of actual work schedule - present plan is for Monday, will take day off and unpack without kids underfoot.

Today moved some bookcases around - one left the guest room and into Will's room. Another moved to another wall in the guest room. They're very heavy, and too tall to go through the door... quite the challenge. Some heavy duty vacuuming tonight too - fixed a door (master bath hanging wrong), installed the first picture on the wall - my closet - the rest will wait for, well, uncluttered floors.

Banister Done... mostly...

2010-10-11T21:17:00.002-04:00

OK, been a while. So where am I...

Saturday, mostly a wash - some grand unpacking, Jennifer returned from Michigan at 5pm; Abby and I caught up; I cooked dinner - noteworthy, since I hadn't done so for the family in about 6 months (take-out doesn't count).

Sunday, more productive. Ran some errands, then I installed the newel post - which was hard - and Jennifer replaced all of the exterior door knobs and deadbolts. Some more unpacking. The post is very sturdy.

Today, I installed the rest of the banister. While installing a 9/16" lag screw between the newel post and the handrail, I sheared off the head. Not really a problem except for the 1/4" gap between the handrail and post that I now cannot close. Not sure what I'm going to do... so calling it a night. No more power tools this late anyway. Still have to polyurethane the newel post, and set a handful of nail heads in the balusters.

I have a new hardest job as well... no not the banister (though it's up there)... it's the job you're trying to do with a 2 and 4 year old under-foot. Maybe I needed one more weekend...

As for packing situation - kitchen, family room are messy, but no more boxes. The second floor is generally in good shape - 2 boxes of office stuff in the guest room, but that's all. No pictures on the walls though. The living and dining room are another story...

As for other major construction - not much remains. One outlet in island, the cable jack in Abby's needs sanding, paint, reset. And the banister... guh... the shower door is planned for Wednesday AM. Would be nice to get inspection knocked out then too... we'll see...

Handrails

2010-10-07T23:47:00.002-04:00

I must really have aged... going up (or down) stairs that have handrails is SO much easier!! Anyway, the handrails are in, Jen's closet has blinds, kids bath has upgraded shower head, some furniture moved, laundry done...

wait, that last part doesn't count... still pluggin away. Worked invitations tonight - will go in mail tomorrow, hopefully. Regardless, if you're reading this, you're invited, don't stress over invitations... Oct 30 - Open House, noon - late... let's celebrate!!

Settling in, but not done

2010-10-06T20:59:00.003-04:00

Abby and I unpacked her room today - finished the butterfly shelves (profile looks like butterfly wings - I made them) and put back her music boxes and fairies... still can't find her Beatrix Potter... so there's one box missing.

Also finished some electrical work, met the shower door installer - they broke the glass door, and misplaced the dimensions, so had to come over again to re-measure... I've had some interesting vendor experiences in this ordeal.

For those keeping score, only item remaining from the list last week are the banisters - bought the new spindles and bit I need to install, will try for tomorrow - Abby is staying by Mimi to free me up some time (Jen and Will are in Ohio/Michigan - UofM event, go Blue).

I'll probably be blogging less frequently going forward, but I'm probably not done until the party - certainly not until final inspection...

One last noteworth item to mention... the greatest Chinese Drywall Remediator in the country left today - my brother, David - close the book (we think) at 1,056.1 hours over 114 days, 18 tasks (all of 'em). That's 9.25 hours per day, or a 64.75 hour work week for, basically, 16 weeks. We'd never have made it without him.

In!

2010-10-03T23:59:00.001-04:00

Jen, the kids, and all our stuff is home. Everything is physically in the house, the house is a disaster area.

No banister, no inspection yet; close... need to unpack.

Great CD Day!

2010-10-01T22:57:00.002-04:00

Both PODs are totally empty - no need to help move tomorrow!

Banister this weekend sometime, unpacking all weekend, inspection Monday and done!!!

For those keeping score, also need shower door - next Thursday, 10/7.

Also great news from the IRS - allowing casualty loss deduction on remediation costs - so I won't get killed by the mortgage forbearance next year like I thought I would...

Now what do we do...

2010-09-30T19:56:00.002-04:00

Grout sealed... and 1 POD emptied... well, except for the washer/dryer that aren't coming back.

The second POD started, but NICOLE (tropical depression) is far more annoying than hurricane EARL - it won't stop raining!! Kept the furniture where is is... David will put a hurtin' on it tomorrow and with luck, he and I will finish it tomorrow... stay tuned - may not need help on Saturday after all (or we'll get the truck reservation moved).

Banisters will wait until Sunday - inspection Monday...

Almost there...

Worst day since yesterday...

2010-09-29T20:30:00.004-04:00

Nothing moved in today - poured all day. Speakers in, drawers cleaned up, access panel cut - yes, did seal in the tub without plugging it in... oops.

Tomorrow, seal grout, maybe the shower door guys will show, fix the doors, start moving if the rain lets up. Will skip the banister until the large items are moved in, so inspection is off until Monday.

If you're available for helping to move on Saturday, please come by around 10am; will have a truck to take to pick up the stuff at Aunt Becky's.

It's quiet, too quiet...

2010-09-28T21:27:00.003-04:00

Carpeting is done. The squeaks, footsteps, and echoes are all gone... It's nice... Two of the bedroom (Abby's Guest) colors may need to be adjusted, someday... looks really good in hall, master - happy with it overall.

Speakers arrived and are too big - went to Best Buy and bought ones that fit. One volume control in; downstairs bath trimmed out, shoe moulding installed in kitchen, built-in drawers got coat of paint, security system re-activated, found the mystery moulding for the newel posts - having trouble ordering it - but will overcome...

Expectation is that we will accomplish speakers, volume dial, drawers, and maybe access panel tomorrow - move in some large items before banister is in; doors, grout sealant, shower door, banister on Thursday, and inspection on Friday - begin moving in Friday, Saturday.

Counting down:

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins (ordered)
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Door knobs on exterior doors
- Improve door clearance (NEW)
- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)

We may have a house...

2010-09-27T19:19:00.002-04:00

Carpet is in second floor hall, 3 small beds, downstairs roughed-in. Tomorrow, master, stairs, finish downstairs.

Nearly done. Holy crap. It is unbelievable to me to see what we've been able to accomplish. The carpeting finishes it off so much...

One little issue though - apparently, we upgraded over the builder stock carpet a lot because none of the doors open anymore - we'll have to shave off the bottom of all the second floor doors a bit.

Counting down:

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Security system (2 keypads, 1 heat/smoke, 1 siren)
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins (ordered)
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Shoe around kitchen cabinets
- Door knobs on exterior doors
- Mirror, towel ring, paper holder in downstairs bath
- Improve door clearance (NEW)
- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)
- Carpeting (hired-out, Monday)

Ready for Carpet

2010-09-26T20:19:00.003-04:00

Tile in master bath grouted; downstairs toilet installed, everything cleaned. We are ready for carpet. What remains...

- Speakers (dining, master)
- Volume controls
- Security system (2 keypads, 1 heat/smoke, 1 siren)
- Painting/caulking the built-in drawers
- Doors to the built-ins
- Putty and touch up shoe
- Shoe molding in master bath
- Access door to tub in master bath (plug in tub)
- Seal grout, master bath
- Banister
- Curtain rods in living
- Shoe around kitchen cabinets
- Door knobs in exterior doors
- Mirror, towel ring, paper holder in downstairs bath
- Install shower fixtures in master

- Install shower door in master (hired-out; Thursday)
- Carpeting (hired-out, Monday)

So... aside from the banister, I don't consider any of these to be big chores for us; and aside from the banister and maybe speakers due to delivery schedule, I think we can get all of this done by end of day Tuesday...

Unbelievable that it is all wrapping up...

I'll hit 800 hours tomorrow; David will hit 1,000 on Tuesday (probably).

Only a few days left!!

2010-09-25T20:34:00.003-04:00

Another productive day. Downstairs bathroom sink installed (Thanks Geoff), shoe molding painted and installed (Thanks David), drawers to the built-ins installed (Thanks Jason), stove installed, a final coat of poly on the closet hardwood, and, finally, all tile in the master bathroom has been set.

Tomorrow, grout master bath, paint bedroom wall (from stud surgery), touch-up paint throughout, install the downstairs toilet, and then clean, clean, clean. Jen is coming over to start unpacking the kitchen... Carpet on Monday (did I mention that before?).

No Bears game tomorrow since they're playing on Monday night... so should be a productive day tomorrow! If you come to help, there's plenty of cleaning to do!

I miss the dumpster...

2010-09-24T21:30:00.002-04:00

We have a problem. There's no place for the empty beverage containers now that the dumpster is gone. That thing was pretty handy...

Stove connected, last cabinet installed, bullnose tile cut, closet poly'ed, stud for shower door installed, last quarter-round cut, speaker re-wired, driveway power-washed, quads installed, PODS arrived - a good day.

Tomorrow, more tile, painting and isntalling quarter-round... on track for carpeting...

Whoa! A view from the road.

2010-09-23T20:57:00.003-04:00

The dumpster is g-o-n-e. The first 30-yd container arrived May 19... had hoped it would take only one, then knew it'd be at least two... then three, four... the answer was five 30-yd dumpsters. May 19 to Sept 23rd - 4 months, 5 days. The grass is really, really dead - move your foot through the... straw and everything comes up - no roots left, just topsoil... Nevertheless, I can stand on my porch, and see the street. Until tomorrow...

The PODS will return tomorrow. Hooray!

Also tomorrow, another drywall guy coming... I'm putting in an all-glass shower door for Jen; has wanted one for a long time... apparently though, with no frame, the hinges need two sistered studs, not one... who knew? Since the tile is in, we're cutting into the wall from the master bedroom side, adding a stud, then sealing it back up. Will need paint repair... Still, after all we've done, Jen still won't let me do the drywall patch... weird... Anyway, fully repaired this weekend - no worries...

This weekend because... drum-roll please... CARPETING ON MONDAY! It all arrived at the shop today, couldn't schedule for tomorrow, so will do both downstairs (family room only) and upstairs - hopefully in one day, maybe two.

On Tuesday, security company out to re-connect us... another milestone...

Going to be a busy few days. Also accomplished today, dishwasher in and re-connected, stove in but not yet reconnected. Family room cleaned-out and dust removed. Deck power-washed, driveway (paint overspray) started.

That's it... more tomorrow.

Shoe Molding and Admin

2010-09-22T21:52:00.002-04:00

David finished another coat of paint on the risers, and cut all of the downstairs shoe molding (for the hardwood) - to be painted tomorrow, then installed, and maybe caulked.

I had travel for work, so short night, but picked up remaining tile - will install tomorrow (taking a few days off). Other milestones: dumpster will be picked up tomorrow; PODS will be delivered on Friday. ALL carpet is supposed to be in tomorrow - maybe downstairs installed Friday, and rest on Monday as originally hoped... stay tuned for updates...

Baseboards and stair risers

2010-09-21T22:37:00.002-04:00

David installed baseboards and patched and painted the stair risers. Forgot to mention he grouted the shower yesterday...

Had long day at work - traveling tomorrow; then taking 4 days (6 inc. weekend) to help get things moving. Look for big milestones...

Shower Basin; More Closet

2010-09-20T21:58:00.002-04:00

Dry set the shower basin, 'cept for 12 accent tiles. David installed and stained the last wall panel, stained the last built-in.

Tomorrow, will set the shower basin, install baseboards in closet, paint touch-ups. Also tomorrow, tile company will come out to measure for the shower door - another item I decided not to bother with myself...

A different type of milestone tomorrow for David - 100 days (calendar days). So David's at 937 hours, 100 days = 9.37 hrs/day ~ 65 hours per week. I'm at 760 hours, 127 days = 5.98 hrs/day ~ 42 hours per week (plus 40 hours at actual regular job, of course, I'm no slacker).

Also spoke to the county building inspector today - in their words, they are not the "furniture police" so I do plan to move in BEFORE inspection. They want inspection before we're living in the house - so we'll move the PODs into the house, then install banisters, inspection, and then move Jen and kids from Aunt Becky's into the house. Interesting that carpet is not needed for inspection... 'course, it is needed for move-in... so... whatever...

Tile and Cleaning

2010-09-19T22:20:00.003-04:00

All tile that can be done with materials in hand, is done. More bullnose coming in tomorrow - only a couple hours of setting to go - then some more grouting - probably mid-week to all done.

David make good progress - last built-in is built. Staining and poly to go.

Spent some time cleaning - lots of dust downstairs.

Hadn't logged a receipt since 1 Aug... spent some time on the scanner today... need to update the actual returns someday... at 2,600+ hours overall.

More of the same

2010-09-18T21:26:00.003-04:00

Big news today, Cable/Internet went out again - so David texted Angie for a Hokies score - she responded "49-27 them" - which we took to mean ECU, and upon hearing that, I jerked out of shock while cutting tile, immediately took a shard of razor sharp stone in the eye... needed to go to the Emergency room - still can't see out of my right eye...

OK just kidding about that last part - unless you consider the bathroom the "Emergency" room - I was able to get it out... and the Hokies won...

Good progress on tile and closet. Tomorrow will be more of the same... probably will break to watch the Bears...

Floor done, grout started...

2010-09-17T20:48:00.002-04:00

Again, a no-progress day; David continues to rack up the hours; Al finished the floor (finally) which really opens the flood gates for this week. Can bring in dishwasher, oven, downstairs toilet, sink, banister... we'll also focus on last kitchen cabinet, dining room speakers - which weren't really waiting on floor...

My guess is that's all Mon-Friday type work - this weekend will be finish, once-and-for-all, the tile bathroom and closet. Carpet for downstairs family room also likely this week - though doesn't sound like Monday after all...

Counting down! Then planning for the party - Oct 30 - write it down!

Floor coated, closet progress

2010-09-16T20:30:00.005-04:00

David made great progress on the closet built-in. Also set tile in the shower nooks. Only the border (need more bullnose), basin, and 2/3 of the tub backsplash to set. David grouting shower walls tomorrow, I'll try to get the tub backsplash set.

Al was by yesterday (I stayed with Jen and the kids, blogspot doesn't work on Jen's computer), coated the floor. Looks great. Was supposed to be by today, another no-show... promises to be by tomorrow for the last coat. Moving in and out of the house by extension ladder to the second floor... not cool. If by tomorrow, will be able to walk on it on Saturday, furniture on Sunday.

Have our first meeting with our attorney tomorrow. I guess the beginning of the next phase of this ordeal.

David is 1 hr 40 minutes from 900 hours... I'm at 735.

Shower walls done

2010-09-14T21:45:00.003-04:00

More tiling by David - looks great.

I worked a long day (mandatory OT) - nothing accomplished at the house.

Al made an appearance and finished sanding. Stain tomorrow.

Received an email response from Senator Webb from a posting made who knows how long ago. Doesn't talk about air quality like the last one, but does imply that he led the charge for a casualty loss deduction by the IRS... which does not exist contrary to his letter... good for him... nothing more frustrating than Washington politicians.

Tile 80% Done

2010-09-13T21:40:00.003-04:00

David tiled like a madman today - 80% of the shower walls are done. Jens closet is done.

Installed some of the final plumbing fixtures - that was painful. I managed only to finish the bath-tub back-splash on one of three walls...

Tomorrow, finish the shower walls, work the bath-tub back-splash some more, maybe get to some closet shelves.

Spoke to Al today (another no-show); promises to be here tomorrow to stain the floors... we'll see...

Slow Chinese Drywall Weekend...

2010-09-12T20:26:00.002-04:00

Well, football season begins, Chinese Drywall work slows...

Sorry for not blogging yesterday, I was too distraught after the Hokies poor showing...

Al was a no-show yesterday and today, desipte several phone calls along the lines of "I'll be there in 2 hours"... Not too worried since his sander is here, the floors are sanded (which is the part I wasn't comfortable doing myself), and I haven't paid him a cent yet... I'll give him another couple days before firing him - as long as he finishes by Friday...

The master bath received most of the attention when football wasn't distracting us... sinks are installed and working, toilet is installed and working, about 1/3 of the shower tile is set, the bath-tub back-splash pattern has been started, which was the most challenging step. We chipped the mirror when we tried to install it... it may be swapped for two new ones... still deciding.

One major issue came up... apparently I forgot to plug in the jetted tub before sealing up the wall tile... sigh...

Picked up most of the wood needed to finish the closet shelves, looking on track... still counting down...

Hardwood Refinishing Begins

2010-09-10T21:30:00.003-04:00

Floors are sanded - look great.

More work in the bathroom done; good Lowes' shopping day.

Original plan for this weekend was nearly total loss because of hardwood staining - David has awesome solution... involves extension ladder and window access... save $ on hotel and allows tiling to succeed this weekend.

To Go:

Downstairs throughout: shoe molding
Down Bath: toilet, sink, light fixture
Dining Room: speakers in ceiling
Kitchen: cabinet above fridge, island, appliances, shelves in pantry
Family room: carpet, built-in drawers and doors
Hallway: alarm panel, siren
Closet: shelf and coat rod
Stairs: Bannister
Upstairs throughout: carpet
Upstairs hall: railing post trim, heat detector
Upstairs beds: "Quads" (cable, phone, Internet) in all
Abby's: butterfly shelves, window treatments
Master: my closet wooden shelves, Jen's wire shelves, speakers
Master Bath: tile shower, plumb sinks, mirror, tub back-splash

Gonna make it!

18 days to go... Hardwood refinishing starting tomorrow

2010-09-09T20:18:00.003-04:00

Master bath vanity and sinks in. Stairs puttied. Downstairs cleaned - ready for floor re-finishing starting tomorrow. Spoke to Al, we can be in the house tomorrow night, but starting Saturday afternoon, need to be out until Monday night/Tuesday morning. David undecided on plans.

After that, lots of jobs break loose - downstairs bathroom can be done - sink and toilet - stove, dishwasher back in the kitchen, shoe molding in, carpeting in the living room (only upstairs is back-ordered), banister installed... Will have dumpster picked up - maybe even tomorrow - then pods delivered... Still need to finish master bath tiling (shower and tub back-splash - hope to get back-splash done on Saturday before we're kicked out of house) and also need to finish my closet shelves, but need supplies for that. That's about it...

Tomorrow, will tackle built-in drawers, fixtures in master bath (faucet, drains, towel rods, etc), some painting touch-up... probably set a few key tiles that will help me get the back-splash in on Saturday (will be complex pattern).

Count down with me!!! 18 days to go! Remember, party on Oct 30 - save the date!!

Grout, caulk

2010-09-08T20:36:00.002-04:00

David grouted the bathroom floor and tub - looks awesome. Caulked some of the gaps in the stairs - looks good, will finish tomorrow.

We installed lights in the master bath, the rest of the night is a paperwork night for me - haven't scanned receipts in days...

19 days to go...

Tomorrow, toilet and vanity in master bath, baseboards. Clean downstairs to prep for hardwood re-finishing. Probably schedule dumpster pick-up for Friday after clean-up.

20 days to go...

2010-09-07T21:41:00.003-04:00

David: Two coats of poly on closet floor; washer/dryer delivered; shelves in the linen closet. More painting.

Me: Picked up grout, installed shelf standards in Abby's closet, cover plates on master bath fixtures. Master bath light delivered.

Tomorrow: grout master bath floor, cut shelves for pantry, install master bath lights, build drawers for built-ins; paint. Other odds and ends.

Still making good progress. No hardwood tomorrow, so we put off our field day (clean-up). Probably will do that Thursday...

Second Floor Flushes

2010-09-06T19:13:00.002-04:00

Bad day - David and I are both hurting - backs. I need to file for worker's comp... who's the boss of this project? Oh...

We did manage to get some work done. Lots of picking up/cleaning today in prep for the floors. BTW, my floor guy, Al, had a family tragedy - lost a grandchild - keep him in your thoughts and prayers; pushes the floor work back to Friday; not a concern given the delays on carpeting.

Toilet installed finally; mirror too. Have a bathroom on the second floor! Installed the washing machine basin - required some mods. Ready for washer/dryer tomorrow. Installed some shelf standards in the pantry; only one shelf each - needed Jennifer's approval on the depth...

More of the same tomorrow and all week. One day at a time...

Bathroom Floor; Closet

2010-09-05T20:57:00.003-04:00

Tile cut and laid in master bathroom floor... at the expense of my back... Help from Jen to finish the job... backsplash tomorrow if I can walk.. more likely to wait another week. Stuck at 699.2 hours.

David installed the first panel in the master closet, and stained the floor. Looks great. finally got around to the bathroom baseboards. Toilet tomorrow - woulda been tonight 'cept for my back. David cracked the 800 hour mark.

Tomorrow will spend some time cleaning up - get the downstairs floor ready for finishing on Wednesday, and get the last of the major disposal out of the house so we can finally have the dumpster picked up - shooting for mid to end of the week for that...

Master, Closets

2010-09-04T21:27:00.003-04:00

Good day. Set tub tile, dry-set 80% of the bathroom floor. David observed a "design flaw" in the tile - with accent tiles arranged in the floor at every 4th corner... there is not a single tile in the floor that doesn't have a cut. I didn't realize this until I was into it... so it took a little longer than I thought... should have it set tomorrow anyway...

Thanks to David - worked my closet most of the day - laid the hardwood floor and painted the walls (not in that order). Then went to work in the kids' bath - still need shoe molding in before toilet - he's motivated to get the toilet in tomorrow.

Thanks to JP for coming over today - installed shelves and rods in Abby's, Will's, Guest, and half of Jen's closet. Also cut the drawer bases for the built-ins, and painted them. A big help today.

A couple of milestones coming up - David will crack 800 tomorrow, I'm a couple days away from 700. The project cracked 2,400 hours today. That's about 1 hour for every square foot - if anyone cares about metrics... doesn't seem like a lot when you put it that way...

Tomorrow, more tile, more hardwood, more kid's bathroom.

Earl Over-hyped (here), Labor Day Weekend...

2010-09-03T22:07:00.003-04:00

No worries about Earl - all the trash stayed in the dumpster... which is the main thing... no power loss. 20 mph winds, 2 inches of rain.

Blinds up, accent tile in, bathroom wallpapered, new washer/dryer ordered.

Washer/dryer here Tuesday, Al here to finish the floors Wednesday. Tub tile dry-set, will thinset bathtub and backsplash tomorrow, start on floor.

David on closets tomorrow. Still some other odds and ends to do... need to install cabinet above fridge - keep ignoring that one...

We had some bad news today - the carpeting for the upstairs is on back-order, and will not be installed until 9/27... which will actually cost us a week. Jen plans to call and cry on the phone - see if we can buy back a week that way... my solution may be some vacation time from work so it will only cost us 3 days... I'll probably lose volunteer helpers though...

We also finalized the party date - 10/30. SAVE THE DATE! All helpers, moral supporters, and interested parties invited...

Starting to Countdown!

2010-09-01T21:51:00.002-04:00

Back from company travel - 3 days in CT. David worked on the house while I was gone...

Built-ins shelves in, painting done. Drawers still left (waiting for JP), and doors - which are for me to get to... someday...

Stairs are in - no sign of a single squeak - beautiful.

Made appointment with "Al" to re-finish the hardwood floors - a reasonable price. He will start on Wednesday, 9/8.

Carpeting selected - Jen to make appointment for installation ~9/15 - probably will lead to move-in on 9/18 instead of 9/25... maybe...

Wallpaper in living room in - awesome - lights in (finally). Bathroom wallpaper tomorrow.

David painted the master bath - my top priority this holiday weekend is to finish that tile. Still missing my accent tiles.

David to work the closets (shelves and rods) tomorrow or Friday. My closet my project weekend of 9/11 - if all goes according to plan...

Of couse, then there's Earl... expected to touch here Thursday at about 2am... forecast only calling for 20 mph winds and lots of rain, but we're under a tropical storm warning with 60% chance of tropical storm level gusts (40-70 mph).. so... if we have no power this weekend... then all of this is up in the air... hopefully it's just a lot of hype...

Stairs going in!

2010-08-29T22:07:00.006-04:00

Started installing stairs. All treads cut, first two and landing fully installed (looks good); balance to go in tomorrow. Risers painted, but not cut. Maybe tomorrow. Needless to say, all the old 2x4 stairs are gone. Needed to adjust one of the stringers - going in nicely - the baseboard are not totally square, which impacts the spacing, but probably something that only I'll see...

Final paint coat on built-ins, first shelf installed. More shelves to be built, drawers to be assembled (thanks Jason), doors still being designed... then, paint those pieces... got polyurethane to ensure the paint doesn't come off on books, etc...

No additional progress on master bath tile or paint. Picked up additional thinset and some cement to pour the shower basin...

Kids' bathroom toilet valve installed. All parts in hand - only time prevented the toilet going in today - will probably wait for me to return from travel...

It's all coming together. The only "do-it-ourselves" project not yet started are the closets (shelves, etc). One decision on carpet was made (downstairs), waiting on one final number for the upstairs decision. Likely to hire the hardwood floor re-finish tomorrow, schedule for week of 13th? If can't meet that date, we may do ourselves... been looking into that... so that may be another project not started. Looking like move-in on the 25th is a realistic goal; outside shot we could beat it by a week, but don't think it will slip past the 25th.

Stairs are here!

2010-08-28T21:20:00.002-04:00

Thanks to Andy, Jason, and Dave today. Good progress on built-ins, kid's bath, and started on master bath tile.

Also of note, the stairs arrived! We'll probably work that tomorrow. Tile too, more painting and built-ins... picked up the paint for the master bath too.

Floor Lessons

2010-08-27T21:30:00.002-04:00

Took day off work - lots of errands - have master bath tile (except for 9 accent tiles), wood for drawers and shelves for built-in. Good progress on finishing built-ins...

Another item today was the third quote from another floor finisher. The hardwood didn't hold up very well though all this. It swelled and cupped throughout - the reason is in question. Could be the loss of A/C during a hot and humid summer, or else moisture from the crawl space - which could be from sweating A/C ducts or the "sink-hole" I mentioned a few days ago.

As for the sink-hole - here's the deal: on the extreme opposite end of the house from the crawl space entrance, is a hole (deep, down below the blocks, to the poured foundation), filled with water, and the water main into the house and sewer line out are both "in" the hole. I hadn't noticed previously, but during the last trip in there, there is a large amount of sand piled up, under the plastic, adjacent top the hole - as if it was purposely dug up. Also, there is a "Terminix" tag hanging from an insulation hanger over the middle of the "pond" - they check for moisture and termite activity quarterly - never reported a problem, in fact, always checked it out as "OK", including moisture...

In any event, today's vendor actually tested the hardwood floor for moisture - and told me it was dried out. The hole is still there, and still full of water, so I'm thinking it was the absence of A/C that damaged the floor. The good news, the floor will recover. Need to figure out the pond though... my plan is to pump out the water, fill in the hole with the adjacent sand, install some crawl space fans, and re-inspect a month later - see what's going on. More to come...

As for tomorrow, have lots of supplies, plenty to do - finish kid's bath, work on built-ins, master bath tile... come help if you can!

Mantle and More Paint

2010-08-26T23:59:00.002-04:00

Sorry no blog yesterday - Will turned 2 - dinner, presents, and cake.

Today, more built-ins (mantle installed, lots of priming), kids' bath - painting. More help from John A., JP, and David - broke the 700 hour barrier... He might be uncatchable... I'm still at 635 - next week work begins mandatory OT at work and I also have 3 days of travel next week (8 hours max allowable each day), so Thurs and Friday need to be 12 hours workdays at the yard... so I have this weekend... then probably nothing until next weekend...

...so I'm taking tomorrow off to make what headway I can... Lots to do - come help if you can.

By the by, we went to see "The Expendables" tonight late, after all was done, just to get a break before the big 3-day work weekend... we were hoping it would be a classic ensemble action movie... think "The Magnificent Seven" for 2010's... and well, if by Magnificent you actually mean Really Crappy, and by Seven, you mean Five, then it was... Very expendable... save your $$ - I should have...

Built In

2010-08-24T22:38:00.002-04:00

Built-ins installed! Look awesome.

Kitchen sink working!

Kids bathroom shower working!

Kids bathroom paneling up! (not painted)

A good day. Thanks to David (685 hours) and John A. for coming out again - made great progress today.

Tomorrow, finish trimming the built-ins and start priming them. A little sanding too. Maybe paint the kids' bathroom paneling... with that done, second floor toilet can go in!

Getting closer...

"Timeout" Here...

2010-08-23T22:37:00.002-04:00

Made great progress on the built-ins - David finished all of the face frames, and installed the bench seat and frames into the wall, and started caulking. Also installed the vent grates and A/C plenum - works great.

Big surprise today, John A. is in town - came out to help - prepped walls for cabinet installation; he'll be here all week - able to spend some more time here tomorrow. We'll put him to work for sure...

Tomorrow, more built-in progress, maybe some more plumbing in the kids bathroom, beadboard, maybe some painting. Making good strides - still hoping to have these items finished by the weekend, and hoping to have the stairs and master bath tile soon...

Running out of blog titles...

2010-08-22T20:58:00.002-04:00

Started on face frames for the built-ins today - Thanks Uncle Bill for the tools and hardware - awesome... picked up some molding to trim them out. Painted some before rain started... Hopefully, by week's end, they will finally be finished.

Installed a new kitchen faucet, and Jen installed the faucets in the kids' bath.

Tomorrow, more built-ins...

Cyclobenzaprine is king

2010-08-21T21:59:00.002-04:00

A tough but relatively productive day. Started with the repair of an outlet, which turned into a repair of a short circuit, when ended in the discovery of a sink-hole in the crawl space. A story for another day... short circuit fixed.

David and JP finished roughing in the built-ins - we'll start trimming them out tomorrow - followed by painting. In addition to solving electrical mysteries, I installed the under-cabinet lighting in the kitchen, finished the face-plates, and installed the sink in the kids' bath. Jen started on the faucets. Hope to have working second floor sinks tomorrow.

Regarding the title of tonight's blog, on Thursday, while working on the computer, I looked backward over my shoulder to look at the TV, and wrenched something in my back. Advil on Friday, higher-test medication starting today - feeling better. It's tough getting old...

Also thanks to Doug and Geoff for working the coat closet/house control center today - all cleaned up. Also now have a working doorbell!

Tomorrow, painting the built-ins - probably installing the roughed in pieces. Starting on the trim work. Finishing the kids bathroom sink and tub plumbing, maybe getting to the kids bathroom bead-board - last step before toilet.

As for the house re-warming party; I have tickets to the VT-Duke game on the aforementioned Oct 23 weekend - so more to come on the date...

Home Stretch

2010-08-20T22:53:00.003-04:00

Big thanks to Dave for finishing the window seat rough-in - looks great and supports my weight very sturdily. Thanks to Doug and Geoff for painting and help with plumbing, and to Jason and Jonathan for helping with Lowes (big vehicles). Nice to see some new faces today too.

Tomorrow, Will's birthday party mid-day, so if you're going to drop in, please call first to ensure we're home. Bought lots of pieces from Lowes tonight - so plenty to do now... hardwood for landing, faucets for kids bath, balance of electrical face plates, speaker plates, bathroom drain PVC, low voltage lights for under kitchen cabinets, some other odds and ends...

The last leg...

2010-08-19T22:20:00.003-04:00

Mom and Dad left today - thanks for all of the help.

David worked the built-in more - last sheet of MDF cut - will need more. Tile in the laundry room and kids bathroom is finished - looks awesome - thanks Dave.

I installed a light, and did some paperwork.

Getting close. Major remaining items, in sort of an order:
- Built-ins - I hope to have done this weekend
- Plumbing - sweat on valves, install kids' bathtub fixtures
- One more kitchen cabinet
- Closets - shelves, my closet, rods, pantry
- Stairs - parts arriving next week
- Master Bath - tile the hell out of it... Jen to pick out tile
- Master Bath - cabinets, fixtures, plumbing
- Kids bath - paneling, trim, cabinets
- Re-finish hardwood - hire out, out of house 3-5 days
- Install downstairs bath sink and faucet
- Wallpaper
- Carpet

Microwave!

2010-08-18T20:59:00.002-04:00

All walls and trim painted. Rain today, so no built-in work. More grout. Microwave installed!! Popcorn tomorrow!

Mom and Dad took the kids to the zoo for their (Mom and Dad's) last day here; then out to dinner (Will's turning 2 next week), cake and presents - no work this evening. Well, no work on the house anyway (shipyard calls).

Tomorrow, finish the tiling, touch up the ceilings, probably start plumbing the valves so the cabinets can come in on Friday. More built-in work weather permitting.

Noteworthy event yesterday after-blog - we saw that the local newspaper published a list of all homes in the area that had Chinese drywall delivered to them... not too cool... after all the hard work we've put in, we were "outed" by the paper as a CD house... Will need to write the editor at a minimum... maybe open up to a story so we can be advertised "clean"... not too keen on that idea though... just another day in the life of a CD homeowner...

Stats and Schedule

2010-08-17T22:09:00.003-04:00

Today, window seat, more painting, more cabinets, some plumbing (kitchen sink connected), some more grout.

Tomorrow, microwave installed... more built-ins, more grout...

Statistics for the job...
David = 616 MH
Me = 598 MH

Congrats to Dave for being the first to 600...

Job Total = 2,093 MH

Looking at the schedule, we look ahead on trim and painting, but my schedule forecast for floor and carpet will be too short... I'll be tiling the master bath before carpet instead of after move-in, so that will push everything back... 50-50 for moving on original schedule - my guess is a week or two longer than originally predicted.

Cabinets Going In!

2010-08-16T23:23:00.002-04:00

The main kitchen counter is in, the high corner, and one other was installed... The big one over the microwave tomorrow, stand-alone tomorrow...

More painting today - master bedroom re-done; more trim. All that remains is some trim painting, ceiling touchup, and then other random corrections - so maybe paint done tomorrow! Jen did some good shopping today - new lights, more grout to finish the tile...

Oh, as for grout... SpectraLock is great for large field tiles and thin gaps, but for small tiles and big (deep) gaps... not so much... SpectraLock is a two-part epoxy that is water-tight, mildew resistant, stain-proof - cool - but hard to work with (mix), smells bad, sticky, difficult to clean... a tough recommendation; good performance, hard install...

Also had two floor re-finishers in - the second guy was cool; older gent, he didn't measure anything - seemed to know what others would charge and beat the first guy by $100 with barely even looking - also had a more realistic timeline (5 days) than the first guy (2 days) - one more quote on Thursday, but unless they blow me away, I'm going with "Al".

Carpet samples to look at as well - another carpet vendor in on Friday to measure (the same company we used in the play-room). I'm starting to see the end of the road...

Tomorrow, Dad will plumb the kitchen sink drain, install the other cabinets. David is looking to try his hand at the built-ins, Mom will finish painting, and I'll finish the grout work for the two newly tiled rooms... Getting there! I'm starting to think about the re-house-warming party... Late October probably - maybe the day before the permit expiration (party 10/23; permit expires on 10/24)... Seems kinda symbollic... In any event, I'll make a save the date after I look at the Hokie football schedule... :-)

More Tile, Paint, Built-ins

2010-08-15T19:49:00.002-04:00

Today, painting rounded a corner toward the finish line. The only remaining white walls are destined for wallpaper, or we just don't know what we're doing with. All the downstairs is done, 'cept for some finishing (and eventually, the built-ins). Upstairs is done except for the re-do in the master bedroom; the master bathroom is the last room without paint, but we don't yet know the tile yet, so we haven't picked the color yet...

Tile is set in the laundry room and kids bath - very pleased with those floors.

Outlet and switch plates are installed, alarm components (most) - give quite a finished look.

JP came by yesterday and gave me a pep talk on the MDF cabinets, so I gave them a couple more hours today and may have changed my mind again on those (ie, I'm not yet scrapping them). With some internal shelving installed, they stabilized a lot, and I'll work those a bit longer to see where it goes...

Tomorrow, a big day - kitchen cabinets are coming back in!!! The kitchen is painted and prepped, and it's finally time... Also, will grout tile in the laundry and kids bath, paint the master bath, and some more trim.

Painting and Tile...

2010-08-14T21:19:00.003-04:00

Colleen flew home today; Dad arrived in the late afternoon.

Painting - thanks to Becky, Mom, David - lots of progress downstairs. Maybe finish tomorrow; though re-painting master bedroom; still no decision on master bath. Still waiting on paper for living room and downstairs bath.

Tile in laundry room and kids bath cut and dry set - thinset tomorrow. Grout later in the week.

Quick Status...

2010-08-13T23:50:00.002-04:00

More painting complete. Picked up tile and supplies for laundry room and kids bath. Installing tomorrow. Colleen's last day - thank-you dinner at Outback...

Lots of work needed this weekend - plenty of projects - come help! (though I'll be taking Colleen to Norfolk airport early Saturday morning, so not too early).

Goals for weekend are upstairs tiled - stretch goals is ready for carpet except for master bath... we may be with 4 weeks... seem to be on schedule...

More Painting, Tile coming up...

2010-08-12T23:17:00.003-04:00

More painting today - the upstairs is done except for laundry room, which we finally decided what to do with... same as hall... Thanks to Mom, Dad, and Colleen for the help.

Went tile shopping today - Lowes did not have enough in Hampton, will go to Newport News tomorrow to pick up - will tile this weekend. With luck, the kids bathroom cabinet may also go in... probably some plumbing, and more painting.

PS - David passed me in hours again... 564.8 to 565.3...

Painting and Railing

2010-08-11T21:20:00.002-04:00

Back in the blogging routine...

A/C still not functioning correctly - thankfully, not a CD related issue - but still quite annoying... it's 92 on the third floor... sleeping isn't easy, well, except for the exhaustion...

More painting today - thanks to Mom and Colleen - moving downstairs - trim work in progress, walls tomorrow. David installed the banisters - evened out the crooked one - and fixed the creaking stairs - much quieter - lesson: lots of fasteners and good liquid nails. I cut in a wall in Will's room that we left blank to consider for a mural - rejected - then worked on plans for the built-ins some more. We had made the first two cabinets out of MDF, but after a few days staring at them, I'm not happy with them. I'm planning to re-do them out of a tougher material, TBD. Think I will order the material cut to save me some time...

Internet is Back!!

2010-08-10T21:35:00.002-04:00

Sorry for the long blog delay - the cable has been out for several days - brutal.

Saturday - big thanks to David, Mom, Craig, Geoff, and Sarah - painting began in earnest. 3 bedrooms complete, second floor foyer. 53 Hours logged.

Sunday - thanks to Mom and David - master bedroom painted, and we started on the family room built-ins.

Monday - thanks to Mom, David, Geoff, and Sarah - more work on built-ins, closets painted, hallway cut-in. Measured for carpeting (hooray).

Today - Cousin Colleen landed from Chicago - started painting. Thanks to Mom and David again too, more painting (trim); doorknobs installed.

Over 1,800 hours on the project. Jennifer cracked 100 hours - which is big since she's usually handling the kids. David will pass me again tomorrow or Thursday.
I'll try a better update tomorrow.

Painting Begins

2010-08-06T22:03:00.004-04:00

Dear William. Son. I am very sorry - your mother made me do it. I think if you ever have trouble sleeping, you need to see your mother. She says the designer approved the color... it's... intense...

Anyway, painting is underway. Point-up complete, upstairs re-primed, downstairs cleaned. Trim painting progressing, wall painting started. Also, finally fixed the master bathtub - will install the cement board and prep that room for tile and paint.

Ready for a big weekend. Come help if you can!

PS - big thanks to Dave, Mom, Geoff, and Sarah for helping today. And congrats (and thanks) to Dave for breaking the 500 hour mark!!

Point Up and Trim Painting

2010-08-05T22:12:00.002-04:00

Point-up today, it will take two days as I thought it would. The guys did a much more thorough job that I expected - too bad the receptionist is a little fuzzy on the drywall point-up process... scheduling should have been easier. Anyway, they'll be back tomorrow to sand - no painting until they're done, but that's OK, because...

...lots of trim painting done - big thanks to David and Mom - still lots to go. Tomorrow will be trim painting galore. Have some help coming I think, though...

I painted a few doors (David did the rest - all done), and I installed the breakfast nook light, and then installed Abby's ceiling fan... it is hot (in the electrical sense) - get warning light on the wand, but the fan nor light will turn on. I couldn't get any voltage reading at the switch, so I'm concerned that there may be a lost neutral somewhere... but that's for another day... like tomorrow.

Hoping for a half day tomorrow at work, then jump start this productive weekend!

Reinforcements Arrive

2010-08-04T22:01:00.003-04:00

No work accomplished today. Worked late to free up time on Friday. Dave and Mom arrived - prepped for tomorrow. Point-up tomorrow; trim painting to begin. I'll probably suck it up and fix the plumbing...

Let there be even more light!

2010-08-03T22:19:00.003-04:00

Was thinking about fixing the faucet at the master bathtub (both hot and cold point the same direction when off, or on for that matter - rather than being symmetrical that is - requires cutting copper (or melting solder and ripping apart), PEX, re-soldering, tight quarter PEX crimping to repair... I chickened out... maybe tomorrow...

So instead, I installed many lights. 2 pendant drops in the kitchen, a ceiling fan in William's room, and a flush ceiling mounted light in the laundry room. I also installed light bulbs (not serious labor, I know) in the foyer, upstairs hall, and both master closets. When all was done, the house was pretty lit up. Should be much easier to paint when the rooms are lit. Will's fan is a little more form than function I can say... looks like an airplane propeller... but doesn't work like one...

Tomorrow, assuming I still need to procrastinate the bath-tub faucet repair, I have a ceiling fan for Abby's room, and picked up the part I needed to re-install the kitchen table light. That probably won't take me long enough... but it will be the last of the ceiling lights. Maybe I'll re-install the heat detector for the alarm system... that goes in the ceiling (though I was going to replace it with new). Oooh, I can pick up 17 gallons of paint tomorrow - that might eat up some time...

Also, Mom and David return tomorrow, and I've confirmed the point-up for Thursday (after much confusion). Point up is a one-day deal - I thought it might take two days for mud to dry before sanding, guess not - which means wall-painting is still on track for Friday. Door and trim painting to commence immediately - or whenever I finish with the plumbing...

Wall patched, marked

2010-08-02T20:46:00.004-04:00

Back from travel. Patched the hole I made in the linen closet (needed to PEX the master bathtub), installed that last pesky vent in the 2nd floor foyer that scared everybody so much, and went around the whole house inspecting and marking the walls and trim. All-in-all, not a bad job. Scheduled the point-up for Thursday, tentatively (they need to get back to me). All on track for a BIG PAINT WEEKEND. If you want to see luck, check out the schedule - last updated on May 26 - calls for paint to start this Saturday... the original (April) called for 8/15. Better to be lucky than good...

Many times, I ask for help the night before, or maybe two nights before... This time, I'll try a week's notice. If you have time on Saturday or Sunday, I could really use some help painting.

On the help note, just got a call from David, his detail is firm, but the date isn't, so he's planning to come back on Wednesday... he just can't deal with me beating him in hours... or he wants to break 500, or something... Mom is coming with him - sounds like a good start to a paint crew.

Bad CD day...

2010-08-01T17:28:00.002-04:00

Woke up, rain - no painting doors today...

Puttered around looking for something else to tackle... ah, master tub should be installed before point-up - just in case of emergency...

Jinxed myself.

6.5 hours later... A couple leaks, small fire, hole cut into new drywall, $25 hand crimper for tight quarters - piece of cr*p. Done, water on - one of the handles is backward... water off, valve apart, reverse it, now it rotates the other way, but still backwards for on/off... look at setup - matches picture. Bad picture. One valve in 180 degrees out of axis... to repair, need to cut copper and re-sweat... sigh... Repaired wall, need to mud. Think we may just have handles that both point in the same direction for on and off... really isn't that bad... right???

Off to shipyard - prepping for travel to CT tomorrow. Hungry... think I forgot lunch.

Caulk Complete - Paint on Hand

2010-07-31T20:03:00.002-04:00

No blog yesterday; long story short, old friends from Toledo called out of the blue to say they were in the OBX, we decided to take the kids kayaking and meet them for dinner. No work on house, late return, no blog. As spontaneous as I've ever been.

As for today, first, big thanks to Andy - with his help, we finished the caulking!! OK, I'm sure finished is too strong a word, I'll probably go around and mark "re-do" areas tomorrow, and really finish with one last tube tomorrow night, but all the trim has caulk on it which is the main thing.

Other big news - trip to paint store - ordered 23 gallons of color - 6 in tomorrow, rest on Weds. Also picked up a bunch of supplies to get started - likely to spray doors tomorrow. Maybe prep some trim.

Also today, spent some quality time cleaning up so the point-up crew will have access.

Tomorrow, finish cleaning some more, mark some point-up items with tape, and try to paint the doors. Decided to spray them, which means... they're coming off... again... Need to start a lessons learned page... door re-installation time-frame will go on it. If you're bored tomorrow, in the area, and want to help, I have a sanding sponge or paint brush (or sprayer) with your name on it!

Caulk and Claim

2010-07-29T22:33:00.003-04:00

Finally back in the swing of things. Finished caulking the stairs, some of the upstairs hallway, the laundry room until I decided it was too dark, and started (continued?) the master bedroom - which has a ceiling light and fan that I'm happy to say, work.

Also finished the bankruptcy claim against Orleans Homebuilders. What a relief that is finally off my "to-do" list. It will go in the FedEx box tomorrow. Hopefully it will be worthwhile, but we're not planning on anything...

Tomorrow, hope to get off work a little bit early and finish caulking. Fat chance, but here's to hope. I'll also call to set up the point-up for Monday. This weekend, we'll finish whatever caulking I don't finish tomorrow, sand the trim, paint the trim and doors, paint the downstairs bathroom ceiling, and probably spend some time Sunday calculating and buying wall paint colors. If progress exceeds expectations, can finish some of the plumbing (valves and tubs), some final cement board installation, and some clean-up. If we REALLY make good progress, can mess around with the built-ins, though we're having a pro come out to quote the work for us on Monday. I may admit defeat there in the interest of, well, probably 2 weeks of schedule savings... we'll see what the $$ impact is... I'm sure I have the patience, skill, and tools needed to do a good job, but probably not very efficiently.

Slow CD Day...

2010-07-28T21:43:00.002-04:00

Got the claim FedEx label, printed; copy to Uncle Ted... but that's about it...

Long day at work - catching up there too... hopefully will mean can take half day on Friday... Have not booked the point-up yet. Probably will call them Friday... Will still paint trim this weekend assuming I get back to caulking tomorrow/Friday.

Paperwork Night

2010-07-27T22:30:00.003-04:00

David left today - he heard from his boss, and is unlikely to return to Virginia for a while... happy for him on the job front, but will miss the help.

Spent the day doing paperwork. FINALLY finished the bankruptcy claim against Orleans Homebuilders... 45 pages of anger, frustration, and large dollars amounts... Actually, it reads pretty polished to me, but I'm seeking a second opinion (Thanks Uncle Ted) before sending.

Jen and the kids came by with a care package - a new laminating machine - I find receipts stuffed into my wallet don't hold up, so I scan and laminate them; it's a little overkill probably, but being organized helps with my sanity I think - and I need all the help I can get nowadays... Anyway, I can finally catch up on my receipt processing... tomorrow...

Downstairs Caulk Done

2010-07-26T22:27:00.003-04:00

David's last day, passed me in hours (by 30 minutes). Finished all the caulking downstairs - spent some time with William while Jen took Abby to a well-visit at the Dr. Tomorrow, he's leaving... a week in Ohio, then either back here or off to a job in SC.

Tonight was a goodbye celebration - I needed the time off too. Jen and I took him to the Pub in Hampton - becoming our hangout. Also spent some time getting ink...

PS - whoa... 2,000 hits!

More Caulk

2010-07-25T20:49:00.001-04:00

Big thanks to David for the help today - made pretty good progress; most of the downstairs is done. Moving upstairs tomorrow.

Tomorrow is likely David's last day, maybe for a long time - new job opportunity may be starting for him - tomorrow will be his 52 day, and he will crest 490 hours (he's at 483, I'm at 487 - so will pass me tomorrow, then leave...). Probably have some type of last night celebration/thanks... so probably no evening activity tomorrow...

Trim Progress

2010-07-24T21:43:00.002-04:00

This is my caulk-gun. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My caulk-gun is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it as I must master my life. My caulk-gun, without me, is useless. Without my caulk-gun, I am a glorified handyman wannabe...

Except for the baseboards that tie into cabinets (not installed until painting done, cabinets installed), and one screwed up door, all the trim is in. That includes the crown and the fakie paneling that we had in the dining room. The paneling in the foyer will get installed, well, maybe some weekend next summer... David and I caulked this evening - slow going. We won't finish tomorrow; we'll see how progress goes.

Finish Trim Weekend

2010-07-23T22:43:00.002-04:00

Back from CT. Long week of real work; stressful - looking forward to house progress... can Chinese drywall actually be a distraction? Work was my escape for quite some time... a few days away I guess does re-charge a person.

Weekend Mission: Finish all trip, nail putty, gap caulk, sand. Have some of the chair rail up in the dining; David and I will work together on remaining trim tomorrow, and both of us agree we should be finished tomorrow. Dumpster the rest and get my garage back, well, some of it anyway...

PLEA: if you've ever considered coming out to help, this would be a good weekend. No extra-curricular to work around; bring a caulk gun or putty knife, some knee pads, and some patience, and help us seal this trim. OK, I actually have 3 sets of knee pads, two caulk guns, and countless putty knives, but regardless... With a little help, I think we can finish it this weekend - no special skills required. If finished, we can get the friggin point-up scheduled and knocked out this week - ready to paint for real (color) next weekend... and let me get this built-in finished... These last few weeks may be the most difficult from a patience standpoint.

Another day, more moulding...

2010-07-20T22:31:00.002-04:00

David made some more trim progress primarily on the downstairs stairs - more to go. Still scared of the crown moulding. Hehehe...

I installed the smoke alarms, framed some of the master shower so cement board can be installed, and did a little bit of trim installation too. Spent some time on Orleans Bankruptcy claim, also scanned about 20 receipts - about 10 to go. Broke my poor laminating machine...

Tomorrow, finish the upstairs stairs trim, then start on... crown!! Jen is taking Thursday and Friday off work to start caulking and putty (David and I are purposely avoiding that chore). I'll be hitting the road for work for a couple days starting tomorrow... back Friday - probably no blog updates until then.

Big weekend of caulking after that! Then point-up and paint.

Victory over Switches and Outlets!

2010-07-19T21:00:00.004-04:00

I declare switches and outlets complete and working properly! Even my two screw-ups! I can't go so far to say that all the elecrical is done since I haven't put in wall lights (bathrooms, etc) - waiting until after we paint, but there are no more work boxes to worry about.

David started caulking - out of fear over crown moulding I think. Mostly custom trim work remains - we'll get to that tomorrow, along with some plumbing fixtures. Then more and more caulk and putty. Hopefully, point-up next week.

Need to get my bankruptcy claim wrapped up - received a notice from the trustee today - never asked for one... interesting.

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On the political front, Peter Roskam (R-IL) is on the House Ways and Means Committee where HR 4881 is referred - Grandma, Auntie Chrissey - he's your congressman - please write to him!!

One switch to go...

2010-07-18T22:02:00.002-04:00

Awesome day of progress. Pantry door, good progress on trim, closing out electrical fast - Thanks to Dave and Andy today.

The mistake at the top of the stairs is fixed, the mistake in the kitchen is ready to be done, missing a couple parts - should be done replacing all electrical in about 10 minutes tomorrow. All other electrical is done; lights working, circuits the way that they should be.

Spent some quality time in the crawl space this afternoon - very wet; condendation on HVAC; probably need to install a fan to help dry it out...

Let there be light!

2010-07-17T21:12:00.005-04:00

The front porch is lit! Our neighbors must be stunned. The foyer light (scary install), family room ceiling fan... working... I did find a couple of screw-ups; Joey, Rugs - remember when we wanted to disconnect the joined living room and 3rd floor circuits from each other by removing one wire from the box at the top of the stairs... well... if I knew then what I know now... there was a reason for that after all! Also the kitchen switches at the dining room door have a little quirk... I may need to address that one too.

Little bit of wall destruction on tap for tomorrow - but you know, that doesn't bother me in the slightest. No home improvement project will ever intimidate me again.

The stairs to the third floor are done done - meaning the risers, treads, finish nailed. Still some baseboard work - but it's awesome walking up to bed without feeling like you're on a shipyard scaffold! Thanks D.

Tomorrow, the electrical light at the end of the tunnel is in sight - maybe not tomorrow, but maybe so... Dave has some special moulding projects - foyer rail base, new pantry door (Andy, got that today after all BTW, thanks for the truck offer anyway), maybe get to chair rail and crown in downstairs formal rooms. Have some cement board to install, then finish some plumbing odds and ends (master bath tub fixture install, 11 shut-off valves to solder), then all that's left is caulking, some sanding before point-up - then paint!! Latest schedule had painting starting Aug 8 - still looks like we're a week or so ahead of that schedule... I'll try to update it again soon...

FYI - ACTUAL RETURNS UPDATED TODAY

Electrical and Trim Continue

2010-07-16T22:08:00.003-04:00

We have a working light that is operated by a switch that is installed in a wall that is not made of Chinese Drywall. Hopefully more tomorrow.

Trim progresses. David has logged 400.1 hours since start - THANKS!

Mom flew home today after more than a week of help - THANKS!

More of the same planned for tomorrow - though in the afternoon - Abby is have her "friends" birthday party tomorrow morning... the last until next year...

PS - thanks to Angie and Lisa and anyone else who's writing their Congressman - every little bit helps!

Return of the Stairway to the Attic

2010-07-15T22:31:00.002-04:00

Thanks to David, Mom, and Geoff for the help today. Most notable event - the stairs to the third floor is back... mostly. Turns out the drywall crew screwed the board to the temporary stringers, which was bad - returning tomorrow to see if they need to re-do it. After they inspect, we'll liquid nail the risers and treads, nail them, and have stairs again.

Tomorrow, David will work stairs and trim, I'll take off work and work electrical, Mom will run some errands, and caulk. Mom flies home tomorrow.

Progress and Help Request

2010-07-14T20:51:00.003-04:00

I traveled for work today; got home and did paperwork for 3+ hours. I'm way behind. David installed more and more trim - getting close to done; Mom puttied the nail holes, and made a big "return" trip to Lowe's for me - money back in my pocket for a change.

I added the link the HR 4881 off to the side. It is very straightforward and an easy read. I'm strongly in favor of it - the reason being is that the IRS does not allow a casualty loss deduction for Chinese Drywall losses not covered by insurance - though I believe they should. This legislation will eliminate the need for the IRS to make any interpretation or rulings - the legislation will direct the deduction rules for them.

My read on this is that it is a deduction, not a credit as Rep. Wittman stated at the Town Hall. Nevertheless, still a step in the right direction. The bill is in the House Ways and Means Committee presently, and probably a long way from becoming law.

My favor to ask of you is to write to Congress. Particularly if you are NOT in Virginia, Florida, Louisiana, etc - where support is already going to be strong. So, family in Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, California, etc - please go to your Representatives' website and write them (particularly if they're on the committee) - most have electronic methods to voice opinion. If you not sure what to write, I suggest the following, or something like it:

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To the Honorable Representative XXXX,

I am writing to voice my support of HR 4881 - Toxic Drywall Relief Act of 2010. I have family who is suffering from this terrible situation, and the IRS is not acting responsibly - this legislation will clarify the role of the IRS and will help hard-working Americans to help themselves. I hope you support this bill to become law, and any role you may be able to play to accelerate this legislation would be noted and appreciated by your constituents.
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Tomorrow, Jennifer gets back from her business trip, which will free me up to get back at this in the evenings. I have high hopes to have point-up next week and painting the weekend following this - lots to do between now and then though... not to mention a boatload of paperwork to finish...

Town Hall Meeting

2010-07-12T20:46:00.004-04:00

Today, Angie and Paul left for Chicago after even more help - more electrical and HVAC. Mom installed some underlayment in the baths and laundry, David installed more trim, and Geoff came by and started the caulking process. I didn't do anything today except go to a town hall meeting... Thanks for the help today!!

The Town Hall meeting... Not terribly sure it was worth giving up the evening of work, but I did get to meet a few key helpers (Delegate Oder and Richard Serpe, esq.) and Representative (US Congress) Wittman made an announcement about a federal House bill, HR 4881, that sounded promising. I'll investigate and provide links later. As for the rest of the meeting - lots of anger and sadness - as expected; not sure the presentations gave much indication of progress.

Tomorrow is Abby's 4th birthday! So dinner at Geoff and Sarah's, but then back for swim lessons at 7pm for Abby, so I will probably get a few hours in - continue the electrical trim-out. David will keep pressing on the trim, Mom will finish the underlayment.

PS - Trim Replacement is about 10 hours aways from replacing Electrical Repair as the most labor intensive part of the remediation...

Trim Work Really Gets Started

2010-07-11T19:10:00.003-04:00

Today, I played foreman mostly and finally fixed the plumbing screw-up that prevented the lights to be installed in the kitchen (installed the lights, repaired the second floor... floor). David trimmed out 80% of the doors; cut and nailed. Angie prepped (removed plaster splatter) the door-frames for David and began installing the A/C registers. Paul installed switches - basically all single poles in; only the 3- and 4-way switches to go. Mom played go-fer for a while (Lowes, Dad to airport, kids to pool) and also installed (soldered) 5 of the 16 shut-off valves in the house. Thanks to everyone for the help today.

Tomorrow, more trim installation - I mis-counted the door moulding pretty badly (counted doors, forgot doorways without doors, as well as the three exterior doors) so we need some more; then start on baseboards. Mom will start caulking and finish some of the underlayment installation. Angie/Paul will finish the electrical and A/C chores they're into - before flying home. I'll try to wrap up the plumbing for the time I'm home, but I have a Chinese Drywall Town-Hall meeting I'm planning to attend on Monday, plus Jen is on company travel through Thursday so I'm Mr. Mom this week as well. I'm also traveling for work on Weds, so this will be a strange week.

I've really encouraged by the amount of work that was accomplished this weekend. I think we're on track from a schedule standpoint; I will probably try to take a little more time off work now to get across the finish line too; still have 150 hours of vacation time to burn... since we're not vacationing... this seems like a noble cause...

Set-Up Day

2010-07-10T22:47:00.003-04:00

I used to thank helpers daily on this blog - not sure when I got away from that, but it wasn't intentional. Big thanks to Mom, Dad, David, Angie, Paul, and Jason for the help today. Logged 50 hours - which is amazing since we were all at Abby's "family" birthday party (the big "4") today - another party on Tuesday (her actual birthday), next Saturday. Yesterday, 56 hours - the new high water mark.

Got several major items to start projects - 2x12 for the stairs, cement boards to finish the master bath walls, underlayment for upstairs bath floors, MDF for built-ins, hinges, doors, trim, rest of the stuff in storage. Today, installed doors, finished cleaning trim, started installing trim, ceiling fans in, speakers, lights, floor in master bath, a few other odds and ends.

Major projects starting - trim out house (assume 70% of all needed material in hand), fix stairs to 3rd floor, start built-in...

The Finishing Begins

2010-07-09T20:29:00.003-04:00

Lots of odds and ends today - several ceiling fixtures installed, cleaned up recovered trim, outlets installed, speakers, some cleaning, and started working the lighting screw-up from yesterday.

Tomorrow, rented a U-Haul truck to pick up lots of material - the doors from storage, a bunch of 2x12x12' for new stairs, cement board to finish the bathroom walls (tile underlayment), MDF for the built-ins... then some big projects start tomorrow...

The Gang's All Here

2010-07-08T22:33:00.002-04:00

Fam arrived. A/C activated on first and second floor. Gas leak fixed. Installed some ceiling fixtures; Dad and David cleaned up about half the baseboards.

Big surprise today - cut a hole in the kitchen ceiling for a new accent light, and right in the center of the hole, laying on the ceiling... PEX. Was pretty sure that I had it all out of the way... guess not. It's actually going to be a bit of a problem. Think I'm going to attack it from above - ie, pull up the floor on the second floor, re-plumb, then install the light. Moving or fixing the hole from below will be a pretty big mess...

Ceilings Done

2010-07-07T21:54:00.002-04:00

David put two coats of ceiling white on the ceilings. Cleaned up the house.

Picked up the plumbing fixtures, and finally got the air compressor - need it for trim tomorrow (nailer)... so, by the way... decided to do the house the way the pros recommend - trim, then point-up, then paint. Called plumber to fix the gas leak - it's in the flex pipe, so I'm not touching it. Did not return call. Impossible to find good help. Cold showers again.

Tomorrow, air conditioner thermostats installed, ceiling grills installed, can turn on whole house - that'll be a relief. Mom, Dad, Angie, Paul arrive.

Making progress on claim. Due in one month.

Primer Done

2010-07-06T21:05:00.003-04:00

I love the smell of latex primer burning on a halogen painter's lamp in the evening. There's nothing like it. That chemical smell... Smells like... victory over Chinese Drywall...

2 coats of primer on everything. 35+ gallons of paint in a day and a half. I repeat, paint sprayers are fast, but not really all that fun. David agrees.

Tomorrow, ceiling white. Expect to finish that tomorrow fairly easily - two coats even... Then remove all this da** masking and open some windows - get some air in here!

I had convinced myself to trim out the house first, then point-up, then final coat... but my decision pendulum is swinging the other way again. Point-up now, paint this weekend, then trim-out. Like all CD decisions, I'll sleep on this and get the decision right tomorrow. I feel driven to paint this weekend due to the help that will be here, but I may have to deal with sub-par point-up as a result - and will have to touch up paint and drywall most assuredly after trim. But will that be so bad if I have 6 or 7 painters going this weekend? 6 or 7 on trim won't be bad, but I can't see that being all that efficient whereas painting would be. Though, I could get some electrical done this weekend with 3 and have 3 on trim duty... Not really a bad problem to have...

I'll let you know tomorrow. Feel free to vote via comment field...

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PS - David hit 300 hours. Congrats (and thanks)!

Finally, paint on the walls

2010-07-05T23:00:00.002-04:00

OK - painted. Got one coat of primer on everything second floor - 4 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, laundry room, a bunch of closets, and the second floor foyer (no stilts or 2x6 plank required). Took 15 gallons of paint. Yes, the house smells.

I have to say, paint spraying is fast, but it is not as fun as I thought it would be (OK, everything is relative remember). Here's a cool thing, it came with a card you're supposed to put in your pocket while you work - thought I'd share the highlights:

"Note to Physician... Injection in the skin is a serious traumatic injury. IT IS IMPORTANT TO TREAT THE INJURY SURGICALLY AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. Do not delay treatment to research toxicity... if the injected paint contains acrylic latex and titanium dioxide that damage the tissue's resistance to infection, bacterial growth will flourish... [blah blah]... immediate decompression of the closed vascular compartments... [blah blah]... release the underlying tissue distended by the injected paint... [blah blah]... amputation."

Lovely. Laminated, keep that in your pocket - folds wallet-size - while you paint... just in case... C'mon, I have it memorized after one reading, what's the big deal?? 3000 psi (yes, not 300 psi, 3000 psi) at the nozzle - just don't spray yourself...

Other big news of the day, David arrived (I'll train him up on the sprayer), and Angie and Paul called to let me know they are returning here on Thurs! Finally, somebody to drink this Bud Light! My parents are also arriving on Thursday, so this weekend will employ the entire Ryan Clan - Malo Mori Quam Foedari!

More Paint Prep and "To-Go" Plan

2010-07-04T20:25:00.005-04:00

OK, now, we're really, really actually going to paint tomorrow... seriously. Had another good day of prep. Ran out of tape, again, just before running out of steam. Have one window, the downstairs bathroom floor, and then the 4 "real" doors in the house (3rd floor, front door, back door, garage pedestrian door). And then the things that got walled over...

I find as you work through a room, you notice things missing only after being in that room for a while. The fireplace switches are MIA, the sconces in the living room - walled in - and the light in the 2nd to 3rd floor stairwell - gone. I'll try to fix that tomorrow... and try not to destroy the new walls in the process...

So tomorrow, trip to Lowes/Smithfield Hardware for tape/floor protectant and 10 more gallons of primer, and 15 gallons of ceiling white (did some math today; rather have and not need than need and not have), dremel in the missing things, and mask them along with the last window and 4 doors. Then paint.

Also tomorrow, the return of David... (I've opened the labor gap to 80 hours plus tomorrow - 373+ to 293)

I've been asked multiple times in the last few days how much is left - usually as if having the walls up means we're almost done. These are the remaining steps - sort of in order:

- Prime the entire house (~9,000 sq-ft of combined wall and ceiling)
- Paint the ceiling
- Install trim and caulk (no small chore!)
- Rebuild stairs to 3rd floor (will be carpeted)
- Drywall Crew to return to "Point Up"
- Install electrical receptacles (hope it all was re-wired correctly!)
- Build new "built-in" in family room
- Paint all walls
- Rebuild stairs to 2nd floor (will be hard-wood)
- Install light fixtures and fans
- solder valves to stubouts
- install cabinets
- rebuild drains install plumbing fixtures, and connect plumbing
- install downstairs toilet
- install tile in kids bath, kid's toilet
- install laundry room tile
- tile master bath
- install master bath toilet
- re-finish hardwood
- wallpaper downstairs bath and living room
- install carpeting
- move-in

So, really, I do still estimate about 8 weeks of this, which still puts us at move-in in September, pretty close to the original schedule (which I did put some thought into).

Anyway, it is still a releif to have the walls in, and I think the nasty part of the heat and hard labor is over - mostly detail now... keep the good thoughts coming!

Did I say "ready" to paint, what I meant was...

2010-07-03T20:48:00.002-04:00

6 rolls of painter's tape down... who knows how many to go...

Spent the morning vacuuming, really not as bad as I let on yesterday. Still wish I had the compressor to air wash the walls - in storage - it'll have to wait. Spent the afternoon (and evening) taping stuff. For having no wood trim, there still was an awful lot of prep to do. The windows and outlets (wires only) on the second floor are done. The kids and master tubs, most of the copper stubouts, most of the air vents, most of the ceiling fan fixtures are taped - probably another hour's worth of work in the morning... then downstairs... A little different than a typical prep job since I'm not used to spray-painting... not sure how much (or little) control I'll have as to where the paint goes - but definitely don't want any on the windows...

Well, still hoping to get to paint tomorrow, but prep always takes longer that one expects...

Ready to Paint

2010-07-02T21:58:00.004-04:00

Bought drywall primer, paint sprayer - ready to go. Spent time at home with ShopVac (flashbacks galore) - it's still pretty dusty here. Likely will spend all day tomorrow vacuuming, replacing floor protection, covering windows, etc. Sprayer likely not on until Sunday.

Other key event today - Air conditioning working a little slow on the third floor - still 86 up here - been running a few hours. I poked my head in to check if the fan was running, and the machinery room smelled like gas. Couldn't find the leak, so turned off the gas at the meter, as well as the valve at the furnace... means I'm safe, but no hot shower in the morning... grr...

Staying at the house again - worked until 9:30, and about to start mapping again. I guess I'm back in the saddle.

PS - anybody around tomorrow to help me get the air compressor from storage? I couldn't handle it by myself today - need a hand... give me a call

PPS - here's one for ya... enter the garage to retrieve a frosty beverage, and the light comes on... which means when I opened the pedestrian door, I startled something large enough to break the infra-red safety beam when it scurried underneath the overhead door... mouse? lizard? or very, very large, 6- or 8-legged friend?? Regardless, that'll make you think twice about going for a beverage...

Knockdown

2010-07-01T19:39:00.002-04:00

Knock-down applied to the ceiling - stopped by during the day to check it - looks great!

Came by tonight to do a little mapping, mail, bills, etc. and lo and behold, people sanding the walls! A pleasant surprise. I did see how they're reaching the top of the foyer, and I wish I hadn't... Holy Acrobat Batman! I'll explain some other time... but that is NOT how I will be painting up there. Now that I mention it, not sure how I will paint up there, but it won't be this way (involves one ladder, and 1 2x8, and that's all... unless stilts are involved too... shudder).

On Politics

2010-06-30T19:18:00.003-04:00

Received great news from the Isle of Wight Commissioner of the Revenue - our tax relief court order was signed today. Want to publicly tell all my neighbors who follow this to remember Mr. Gwaltney at the polls when he is up for re-election (on a four year term) - he is a wonderful public servant, and has our support!! Definately the elected official who has delivered results for us!

Interesting that the most action on this topic has been from the local government - the smallest government with the fewest resources. The State has been sympathetic, but nothing substantive (Delegate Glenn Oder (Newport News) still has my support; my own delegate... not so much). And ah, the federal level... still love my "air pollution" letter response from Senator Webb... the best. Inaction. Enough to make you political...

On progress notes - spoke to Jorge as well as Robbie (TIW owner) today, and both felt we're still on track for painting on Saturday (hooray!!). Knockdown being applied tomorrow, and final wall sanding and clean-up on Friday. They were here with another application of mud today - looks (and smells) great!

Sat down to do more drywall mapping, and got totally distracted with email and web-surfing. Ugh. Anyone want to kill some time and do some drywall mapping for me? It's fun, really! On a serious note, I do have a plan for bankruptcy claim filing - running past some trusted advisors now...

Map Making

2010-06-29T19:22:00.002-04:00

Spent 3 hours making drywall maps. Not quite as boring as evidence logging, but close. Should be the last day of 100+ heat this week - supposed to rain tonight and cool off the rest of the week (thankfully).

No progress on walls today - Jorge (the job supervisor) called to say the crew couldn't make it today, but he came by to mark places to redo (which he did). He also said he'd come back by at 5pm to review status with me, which he did not. Not too concerned - looks good - but hoping for more progress tomorrow.

Baking

2010-06-28T19:36:00.002-04:00

Hot. Really Hot.

Spent a few hours on the computer and finished evidence logging the actual drywall - map still needs several hours to finish. Expect to finish by Saturday and be all finished with remediation documentation prior to painting.

Not making progress on bankruptcy claim... need to get on that...

Down day

2010-06-27T21:04:00.002-04:00

Nothing much to report today. Spent a couple hours at the house - installed a stud in the Master Shower that was needed (previously, drywall into the shower due to this problem, TIW wasn't so keen on that idea). Did find (lost?) a walled-over outlet - marked it, but didn't want to cut into the drywall. I'm sure the guys will find it this week. Also spent some time organizing and backing up some files, and spent some quality time on the bank's website - staying afloat, happy to report.

Then took the kids to Busch Gardens... difficult to relax (need a cooler activity at least), but getting there.

I'll update progress on the walls tomorrow.

Walls Up!

2010-06-26T17:14:00.003-04:00

Blogging a little early - evidence logging is monotonous and needed a break. Outlet. Outlet. Switch. Outlet. Outlet. Switch. Pipe. Pipe. Fixture. Outlet. Switch... you get the idea.

Took the kids for donuts and the zoo today - had a great time. Needed to get some things done at house, pick up mail, and the drywall crew wanted to talk today too, so stopped by in the afternoon.

When I got home this afternoon, the house was fully drywalled, all scrap in the dumpster (my 5th, by the way), house swept clean, and all seams were taped and mudded! Met with Jorge from TIW just now, and I think he just wanted to see if I was surprised - which I was, happily. We walked the house, no missing wires outlets, or electrical work boxes - everything looked great. I have one stud to add in the bathroom which I'll do tomorrow.

Outlook going forward - nothing tomorrow, but back in to re-mud and sand Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - finish coat and knockdown Thursday and Friday - he hopes to be completely done on Friday - ready to paint on Saturday! At worst, paint on Sunday. I got a weekend back!!

On another note, TRAGEDY STRUCK while I was away. Apparently, somebody turned the little dorm fridge in the attic up to maximum cold last week. Yesterday, with nobody opening it in the 100 degree heat to let the cold out, all the Guinness froze and several caps popped off and leaked their sweet nectar (in a slushy form) all over the fridge. Oh, the humanity! And what's worse was all the Bud Light survived! Who is going to drink this Bud Light now that Angie and Paul are gone!?! Will the torment and suffering this project is imposing on me never end!?!

OK, back to work...

More Walls

2010-06-26T07:40:00.003-04:00

Sorry I didn't write last night - had a retirement party for Jen's boss, and didn't get home until late.

I did stop by the house Friday, and the progress on the new walls is going great. The original estimate was two days - it isn't going THAT great, but will be three. The upstairs is done, the downstairs ceiling is done, and many downstairs walls are done. The guys said they wanted to finish today, but didn't know if they'd be able (allowed?) to - no issues on my end...

I, again, didn't log an hour. I do have some important legal chores to accomplish - finish evidence logging for one, so I may spend some time there today. Although, the third floor thermostat read 99 - I didn't believe it, I think it just didn't have three digits... it felt like, well, 105 at least.. ;-) Not entirely sure I want to sit up there on the computer... (at Aunt Becky's now)

Well, William and I are going to get "nonuts"... I'll write again tonight if anything actually happens today.

WALLS!

2010-06-24T20:54:00.003-04:00

I can no longer see across the house upstairs... it's a good feeling. There are walls in every room, but not every room is done. The second floor ceiling is done though. I'd be surprised if they finished hanging tomorrow, but we'll see.

I spent some quality time updating maps and printing drywall photos - I have a good system, but it will take some time. I also looked at the Orleans Bankruptcy Claim form - not really suited to our situation, but I'll figure out a reasonable force fit with just a little bit more thought...

Move Again?

2010-06-23T22:18:00.002-04:00

Today, rented a truck, another storage site, and moved all the doors, chairs, shop-vacs, air compressor, lights, and all the other work material we had in the house. The house is really empty now.

Tomorrow, meeting the drywall crew between 8 and 9; have to remove a couple outlets that we had been using, a couple other loose ends. Go over schedule and workload with drywall crew, and then take a physical breather for a while.

Over the next two weeks, my attention will turn from physical work to mental exercises and more organization. Need to update my drywall maps - have good records now, but not reproducible, and difficult to read (hand written while removing) - want to digitize; have some financial hoops to jump through, and some legal ducks to get in a row. Still plan to come to the house daily, but will only spend a few hours each day and stay with Jen and the kids - the power will be off during construction, and A/C off to keep the dust out of the system - even if is isn't CD dust...

Pass and Final Prep

2010-06-22T22:09:00.002-04:00

Passed Mechanical and Insulation inspection. Angie and David covered the floor, removed the doors, cleaned up the tools, threw away the unused insulation, and otherwise prepped for drywall delivery.

I took another night off - Jen and my 8th Anniversary - had dinner out (terrible service, good food), ice cream... we got each other the exact same Hallmark card - uncanny - I got a nail-gun as an anniversary gift; pretty cool.

Tomorrow, Angie and David head to Ohio in the morning. I'll pick up the rental truck and load up the doors, fans, ladders, lights, compressor, etc etc and take them to yet another storage shed we've rented. Will also remove the three remaining outlets, clean up the phone/cable box - and should be ready for drywall delivery. Can't wait.

Insulation Done

2010-06-21T21:40:00.003-04:00

Paul left today; thanks for the big help this weekend - insulation went great!

Ready for insulation inspection tomorrow. Did a little cleaning today. Assuming all goes smoothly tomorrow with the inspection, will protect hardwood floors again (using a product called "ramboard"), then remove doors, clean more, tools to third floor, change locks, tear down Geoff's attic fan, and get ready to move out on Wednesday. On Wednesday, Angie and David leave, I move everything left here out into storage in the late afternoon (help welcome), and still on track for drywall on Thursday. That also means a break for me for about two weeks... will concentrate on the legal stuff then, I suppose, since I'm on the clock now with the builder's bankruptcy. More to come there.

I have never smelled this bad before

2010-06-20T20:30:00.007-04:00

...and I'm not talking about my sense of smell. Insulated ceiling of second floor all day. I was "on" the ceiling in the afternoon, and I have never sweat so much in my life. Booked 42.9 hours, and the ceiling still isn't done. No walls. Now I know why they use that blown insulation...

Got some other minor chores done too - putty in the outlets, new drain pipe in the kitchen, bathtub faucet disconnected. Put a pretty big dent in the insulation stores today too - didn't count, but used more than I expected. Will update again tomorrow.

We'll have to be busy tomorrow to make inspection on Tuesday. I still think we're on track.

PS - we broke the 1000 hour mark the the project today - 1000.7 hours so far. I cracked the 300 mark today too - 307 hours and 53 days (one day off). Illustrates how much help I've had too - thank God for family and friends.